Alright… Here we go. Attempt Number, I don't know anymore. Sick and tired of this fandom at this point, with the Toxic Flamers and Threats if I don't pair up x with z, but I love writing more than I hate those bastards soooo LETS GO.

In no way do I own or claim to own the rights to Naruto Or any Aforementioned franchises I may use in this fanfiction. All I own is my interpretation of the story and the pc used to upload this fiction.

They… Had lost.

The two of them looked on in shock at what they had seen occur before them. Their female teammate standing beside them with tears pouring down her cheeks, her eyes glistening with the sorrow and the pain of knowing they had lost. Their mentor, dead to the world as he gazed upon the faces of friends and allies alike. Dead. Gone. Nothing, but zetsu… The Ravenette was in a rage; cutting down the same visage again and again and again with lighting arcing across his blade, but he….

He just watched

He just watched and knew

They had lost…

Fate was a fickle thing he had come to learn that day; perhaps Neji was right after all in how one cannot escape it. After all, it seemed all fate had for him was to lose and lose. Even after disengaging the jutsu that Madara has ensnared the world with; the truth was so obvious to them… The shinobi world was over. Completely and absolutely. Poor Naruto himself had watched as the Zetsu were cut apart by a rageful Sasuke; As sakura's heart broke for the lost comrades and loved ones… and Kakashi? His heart went out to the man, who had disappeared mere days later. No Amount of clones he sent out after the man would find him, but he knew the man was better than to have taken his own life and so he took solace at that.

Despite what it seemed like on the battlefield, the roots of the God tree had yet to reach to any of the main villages and so when the Ensnaring gaze of the scarlet moon was lifted, those who were not at battle were freed… freed to learn the truth. The truth that they had failed… oh there was hate. Poor Sakura now understood the veil of disdain that he and Sasuke lived with into their early adulthood; but at least she had Sasuke there to comfort her. Yes, knowing the two had gotten together in the mountains off of Iwa brought a chuckle to the blonde when he first found out. The two seemed to also be ensnared by fate in their own way…

Without Kage, Without Shinobi to teach the ways of ninjutsu to the civilians; there was no shinobi left. Samurai took over within the coming months of the 'age of recovery' as it would come to be known in the history books… the hidden villages became far less hidden and instead blossomed into vast cities without the threat of war with other shinobi villages to put fear into their hearts; it was ironic to know that perhaps Sasuke had been right in their final battle… Without the masters of war; there was no war to fight. It brought him to wonder… Had he been following the wrong path all this time? Who was to know…

As for the man himself, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze… Well. No one had seen him since that fateful day. Oh Sasuke had looked for him up and down the nations but it seemed the blonde had just disappeared into the wind... Sometimes a tale could be heard of the tailed beasts that now roamed freely, coming to stare at something far off into the distance. And every time, smiling as if knowing something that no one else could. He heard tales of That priestess that Sakura had spoken of; in demon country… Fresh with child. A child with blonde hair and those strange pink eyes of hers… He heard tales of a land far to the west where stones of something called 'gel el', were being discovered and destroyed en mass… by a stranger with froglike eyes.

Even at the end, Naruto had to be the hero it seemed… and Sakura made sure he knew every story, every tale of the boy he called brother; Sasuke and young Sarada enjoying these stories by their cottage hearth in the depths of the night where none but them could hear the stories of Konoha's greatest kage to never be… it.. scared, Sasuke in truth. His best friend had not seen them since that day… Did he, like the man himself, blame him for extending the imprisonment of their friends with his attempt for power? did Naruto too, like the tailed beasts, think of him as the last and ironically most successful Uchiha to try and destroy the shinobi world? Who was to tell…

But he knew… he felt it. The long-faded moon mark on his hand burned every time he felt it. The feeling of his brother; watching over the world in his own way… and he would feel it again.

When the time came…

Time: 4th of December, 50 years after The Falling.

Sasuke sighed to himself as he felt his aching back creak with the strain of lifting the heavy axe that cut the firewood in front of him; the chilling wind and biting cold around him doing little to sooth his aching bones. The snowfall that peppered him did little to add to the cold of the mountains; only serving to fight back against the katon chakra he dwindled across his body to fight back the chill. He could smell his wife's infamous bear stew on the air from their cottage down the way; and hear his daughter and son in law laughing with their infant son. Naruto…

A tired chuckle left the lips of the old and last Uchiha… his eyes locked on the horizon. Far to the south, he saw the temple of strangely, one of his best friends in recent years… The monkey reminded him of his brother, with that boisterous energy and… and stubborn will. Goku had told him in recent months that he had felt chakra returning to the land, but it was too late for that… the old survivors had died out and those who used chakra willingly now adays were seen as heretical for using the power of the nine guardian spirits of the world… a little tale he helped spread with some genjutsu, to prevent the return of the shinobi world.

The sound of the train that ran beside the mountain filled the air; its steam powered whistle filling the silence with its shrill but comforting sound; followed not too long after by the shouts of "tain, tain!" from the toddler his daughter had brought into this world. Axe bit into wood as he finally dropped the weapon with a sigh… he himself had only grown weaker in body as the act of using chakra became outlawed. His wife, a legendary figure simply known as the witch of the mountain for her healing that she had been too stubborn to give up. it made him love her all the more for it….

Of course, samurai came by once in a while on a 'heretic hunt' but a well placed illusion always shut them up. he thought back to the last lot as he picked up the firewood in his reed woven basket, turning to walk back down the trail to the cottage he and Sakura had called home; mind going over how they had started to use something called 'guns', in recent years… terrifying weapons that could outpace a jounin with the speed of their projectiles, and were as lethal as the fully empowered strike of his wife's index finger. To end life so fast, it… it made him wonder if it was even worth attempting to fix this world anymore.

To him, the world needed neither him nor his family. The monks in the mountains, the witches of Iwa. His eyes passed over a well-maintained grave, softening as he gazed upon the name… Kakashi Hatake… The man had gone peacefully in the end. Old age on a body that had simply been through too much in its past… he had died surrounded by two of his students and their family; but they knew that in his own way…the third had been there with them too. On the third of every month; new flowers that they had not placed, would bloom anew atop the grave that glowed with the natural power of chakra. They had long since stopped asking why he never came to stay; simply believing that he had come to hate Sasuke for what happened.

They could not blame him.

The sound of crunching snow underfoot, came from the man as he looked out to the cottage, he and his family had built over the many decades… a mansion more like, but it was home. Home to him, to his family, to his offspring and their own family; to the family of Naruto's own offspring that had fled demon country… he smiled.

It was a good life he had made for them… in the end.

Blue eyes watched as their scarlet and ringed brothers went into the building… young, blue eyes watched as Sasuke hugged his wife through the windows, the ebony hair of a infant between the man's own daughter, and his own son, tussled by the elder Uchiha as the boy cried out about the train he had just heard. It brought a smile to the blonde's lips. The cold of the snow did little to chill the growing warmth in the eyes of every being in that home and for part of him, he envied it. He envied the ones who had what he wanted so badly; his eyes up at the rising moon as he thought of her… his moonrabbit. His Hinata… realized far too late in the end.

Naruto, sighed… and dropped from the trees to the snow below with naught a sound; walking up to the door of the building for the hundredth, the thousandth time in his memory to knock… only to stop. he had been gone far too long and unlike the Uchiha, he was not without presence… if he stayed, they would be in danger and he knew it… his head against the door, and a sigh.

"Papa? There's someone at the door..". a mature voice came from within, the cloaked figure looking to the window to see… Sarada? pointing at him. when Sasuke turned to look however, all there was… was two footprints in the snow. Rushing out he came; firewood axe at the ready only to look at… nothing. The snow was undisturbed. The air was without tension, and even the plants looked a little healthier, despite the winter season. He looked around, left to right, to see nothing but his home.

He turned to hang the axe back up only to hear the sound of snow crunching underfoot, and that voice… as gravely and husky as it was 60 years ago.

"a woodaxe Sasuke? I could have sworn you were more of a sword guy". The cheek, the teasing nature, the- he turned to the voice to see him… Lively blonde hair that extended down to his lower back, flawless youthful skin that shone with a sun kissed tan, blue eyes that held the wisdom of age with the life of the young.

"Naruto…". The blonde held up a finger to his lips, looking to the windows where he could see the family laughing, putting up their Christmas décor with the young boy putting his hands in the air to catch each paper star. "I see little Itachi is growing up. last time I was here, he was just a baby-", he put his hand up to catch the weak… weak punch thrown at him. then the other hand to grab the one who hugged him so tight that he was worried Sasuke would break his own back.

"…I know. I'm sorry it took so long. But I can't stay, Sasuke". But his plans would go to waste as he heard her, the gasp and the shattering of a dropped plate before the woman came running out to look at him too. Her pink hair had faded to a pale grey, but she was still so beautiful…

"hey… Sakura…".

~{timeskip}~

After a tearful hello, a few weak punches to the skull that did little but bruise the woman's hand, and introductions to the rest of the family; Naruto found himself sitting by the fire of the hearth with his brother beside him… Sakura upstairs, just coming down after saying goodnight to the rest of the family. Beside him, Sasuke sat chuckling as he listened to the stories of the blonde. "You cant seriously be telling me that you, THE Naruto, was scared by a little girl". The boy just chuckled, looking to the much older man.

"It's the truth Teme. There I am traveling through the ruins of Konoha's shinobi clan district when she jumps out at me. I didn't even know Hanabi survived but it seemed those too young to be at war from the clans were spared in the witch hunts if they couldn't visibly use chakra… her's and Konohamaru's granddaughter picked up his pranking streak and… my god she looked like just like her yknow? Lil hina…". The Uchiha nodded in a comfortable but somber silence, thinking back on the one who's love had never been returned till it was too late.

"so you trained her?". The blonde shook his head, looking to the flames. "No. I couldn't even if I wanted to. The world has evolved to the point where chakra coils aren't strong enough to hold chakra anymore, with a full generation of people refusing to develop their own. I showed her a few tricks to help her make due, how to throw a knife or reverse a grapple; but…. No. what about you? I saw those sharingan in Sarada's eyes; does little itachi..?".

The Uchiha too shook his head, sipping upon the glass of well aged scotch in his hand. "The blood is too diluted. It seemed your Uzumaki genes overpowered the Uchiha ones through that son of yours… don't worry. We didn't tell them who you were". The two turned to Sakura, who pulled up her own chair next to her husband… god she looked old.

"So what brings you here. and how come you aren't an old crone like me and Sasuke-kun, hmmmm~?". Ever the inquisitive, Sakura's green eyes gleamed with a youthful playfulness. "What? No, 'where were you?'. or 'Why did it take you so long?'". The woman waved him off, smiling as she did.

"hm… Well, The reason I'm not as uh… Matured as you two is actually quite simple. I achieved what Orochimaru couldn't…". While Sakura looked confused, Sasuke's eyes widened as he shot forward only to stop at the crack in his spine. It took all the blonde had not to laugh uproariously at the sight of the great last Uchiha being soothed back into his chair while complaining about his back. But he did not ignore the glare. "No teme, I'm not stealing bodies… No Uzumaki before me had ever achieved sage mode to the level I have. Without Kurama, all I've had in these past years is nature. Gamakichi and Bunta even gave me a home on Mount Myoboku and I have spent so… long… immersed in her touch…".

Both husband and wife stared, one with wide eyes and one with a tease. "her~? My my…". For the first time in their lives, it was naruto who swatted at Sakura, landing a precise two finger clip to the head as he chuckled. The whine of the harmless, yet still stinging woman lead the chuckle to become a laugh. "Not like that Ero-Sakura… Her… Gaia… The earth". Both watched as the boy entered such a serene state with a smile of true relaxation on his lips. "…The warmth of a summer day. The refreshing hug of cold water from the mountain spring. The grass underfoot; The blessing of nature… I have been one with her for so long now that my chakra is all but entwined with that of the world. I am in my own way, producing as much nature chakra as I absorb… constantly revitalizing and bringing new life to my Uzumaki cells. To put it simply… I stopped aging. Soon my body began to change and, well… unlike Sasuke, I didn't need the cells of another to grow my arm back… mine just, did".

The woman nodded, staring at the medical impossibility… Sasuke however, watched on with a different emotion. He realized it. Why Naruto stayed away. He smiled, a somber smile that the blonde shared. "You didn't want to watch us die". Sakura turned to him with wide eyes, looking to Naruto as realization dawned on her too. The boy nodded.. "Not only that. I'm constantly letting off chakra and the new generation would have found me and… you. you're in danger if I stay here, and if I'm gone… I wont have to see the last of my friends die. I'll tell you now, You need to be as twisted as the snake sannin to survive Immortality because it isn't living forever… It's watching everything else die".

The two nodded, now looking upon Naruto with a look of respect and pain. The night from there passed rather peacefully; Naruto looking over the two as he spoke of Kaguya's relatives that he had fought on the moon of all places; Urashiki, Momoshiki, Kinshiki, Isshiki, all fought to the death in day, week, year long battles… it took the two a while to accept that while they had lived peacefully, Naruto had been defending them and their entire planet with a stranger, Toneri, who too had passed to a rare sickness with his family after Naruto had let the man go a year prior thanks to sensing the man's deteriorating health. Their conversations went on for the night… and beyond it.

All the while Naruto's eyes flicked to them both… sadness clear within it.

~{ANS}~

when the moon was high in the sky and Sakura lay tiredly on her husband's side; The two men just stared into the flames. A wasted glass of scotch, ice now melted into it fully, lay in the uchiha's hand… his smile somber, soft and small. His wife spoke next… "how much longer…?". Naruto just smiled, and looked at the woman… then looked back to the fire. "…I see. How long have you known?". The blonde shrugged, looking up at the ceiling now… unable to stop the tears going down his cheeks as Sasuke spoke next. "we lived a good life Naruto… now how much longer do we have…?". But the boy could not speak. He gripped the chair before sighing.

"you have tonight… It's why I broke my rule. I couldn't… I couldn't not say goodbye…". It took… a few seconds for Sasuke to realize it. But his arm felt numb… here he was, near on seventy and…. "The snake's curse mark?". The blond nodded, and then looked at Sakura. "… My thousand healing mark…". Again, he nodded. All three of them had used and abused powers in the past that dwindled a person's life force. But it oddly felt, ok. The three of them there alone, by a fire.

"I want you two to know, when the time comes… I'm going to leave. I've been working on some of my father's notes and when the time comes, I'm going to a new world. A new timeline… there's nothing more for me here and I… I love you both. I love you both so much and I want you both to know that I do not regret a moment of knowing either of you. team seven, team Kakashi, you both have been my greatest treasures in this life. My brother, my sister, i-"… he looked… both were staring at him, even with tears pouring down his cheeks. A cold hand lay upon him, wiping the tears away as Sakura weakly leant over and placed such a gentle kiss upon his cheek.

Sasuke too, embraced the man with his good arm. The three held each other, two at peace and one silently crying…

"I don't regret a moment either Naruto. I'm just sorry I was such a bitch to you when we were younger… thank you, for giving me the joy and the pleasure of knowing the man I could have called my brilliant little brother, that I love… so much". Sakura's words only made the tears come harder…

"Dobe… don't cry. Crying is for regrets and I'm the only one who should have those. You did so much for me, where others would have given up so long ago… you saved me time and time again, and showed me what it was like to have a family again. I do not regret a MOMENT I shared with you, Sakura, my children… anyone. Because you gave me the chances to have those moments… now come on. Dry those tears… let us raise a glass to the end of an era and the memories of a lifetime".

The blonde nodded, watching as the two tired elderly figures before him grabbed their glasses; the ruined one being poured away, and filled them as well as his own. They raised their glasses high… Sakura's youthful glint clear in emerald shine as she smiled.

"To the memories of those we have loved and cherished".

Sasuke raised his next, his own smile clear despite his shaking grip…

"To the ones we have lost, and the ones who we have saved".

Next, Naruto… His eyes heavy, but smile clear even with its pained tone. His own glass rising, a clink filling the air.

"And to the tales they'll tell of the ones who lived life to the fullest… To team seven!"

"To team seven!/To team seven!". The three turned their glasses back and drank, unable to hold back their own tears as they watched naruto's drip freely… and so they drank. They drank, and laughed, and then…

…and then Sakura fell asleep. In the arms of the man she loved. Both men felt her flame go out, as her breathing stopped…just a small, goodnight, on her lips… but neither cried. No. they would not sully this moment of their final joy… Sasuke too felt the sleep coming for him but he did not fear… he simply laid a final kiss on the lips of his wife, and a thought to his daughter… his grandchild… his son in law. And his brother, who looked on as if to burn the memory into his mind. The Uchiha smiled..

"Goodnight Naruto…"

"…Goodnight Sasuke. Sweet dreams…".

…and so Sasuke Uchiha slept. Eyes closed to the world and… Naruto wept. Staring. Staring so intently at the sight before him…

When morning came, All that would be found would be the bodies of two people in love, at peace… in harmony. In each other's arms.

~{ANS}~

On Christmas day, Naruto stood before them with heavy eyes. The gravestones.

Here lies Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, Wife and husband

Loved are they in the world, Loved are they beyond it…

May they find peace and may their loved ones live in joy that they watch on from above.

The Blonde's eyes softened, his hand tapping the bottom of a wooden staff against the grave as behind it, a Sakura tree bloomed into full with its roots taking over the graves and enshrining them in full, to never wilt and never rot. With that done, he turned and walked towards the cliff face that they had been buried at… holding up a scroll before he let it unwind into the wind; ink flowing off the paper and into the air before it lit up like a beacon of chakra to the skies above. A whirling, glowing gateway of blue, as he looked down to the two new headbands tied around his arm…

"Well Sakura… Sasuke… Watch over me, wherever you are. It's time for a new adventure". And with his final step through the gate, it closed.

Leaving naught but graves, and memories…

Memories… Of a team of children.

Who saved the world.

~{ANS}~

Right! So. Let's see how this goes now shall we? For those who are curious, yes this is a sage mode focus Naruto. Too many stories on this site use the term sage but just mean Rinnegan; so allow me to put that out here and now. No. Naruto will not be using Rinnegan. You will see what 'gaia' gifted him through extensive sage chakra in later chapters. As for now, please review fairly.